Waitrose and Tesco lead the charge to sign up more small British suppliers as customers demand more local goods

Waitrose and Tesco are leading the way in taking on more small British suppliers, according to a new report.

Buying British In 2017, by supply chain member organisation GS1 UK, said that of the major supermarkets, Tesco as Britain's largest retailer, has afforded the most opportunities to GS1 UK's new joiners over the past five years, trading with 33 per cent of them.

But Britain's seventh-largest supermarket, Waitrose, sits in second place, defying its 5.3 per cent market share by providing opportunities to 18 per cent of GS1 UK's new joiners.

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Many of the 2,500 local and regional products Waitrose stocks regularly outsell their big brand equivalents.

Asda and Morrisons came at the bottom of the list of supermarkets, offering opportunities to 8 per cent and 3 per cent of joiners respectively.

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They were beaten by Lidl, Co-operative, Iceland, Sainsbury's, and Aldi.

Morrisons last week revealed more than 500 small producers have signed up to its new search for local and British food in the first two weeks since launch. It has started its local food search in Yorkshire, with suppliers showcasing products to its buyers and customers.

GS1 UK, with a community of more than 31,000 UK firms, found an uptick in modest-sized new joiners in 2016 compared with previous years, as shoppers increasingly want food, drink and clothing to show their local heritage and have a smaller carbon footprint.

In 2016, 78 per cent of new members had a turnover of £500,000 or less, compared with 58 per cent of all members in 2015, showing a strong shift towards smaller businesses.

The clothing industry was the most significant source of new joiners in 2016, with 21 per cent of firms coming from this field, pushing their total numbers beyond 4,000.

Local hero: Tesco as Britain's largest retailer, has afforded the most opportunities to GS1 UK's new joiners over the past five years, trading with 33 per cent of them

Following various sweatshop controversies, consumers now pay more attention to the 'Made in' labels in garments.

And a 'Made in Britain' tag is increasingly important to buyers not just here, but around the globe, with a 25 per cent rise in the export of British-made clothes since 2011.

Businesses in the food and groceries sector account for the largest single slice of GS1 UK's membership at 20 per cent. The sector is also one of the fastest-growing, with 12 per cent of new joiners in 2016 originating from it as shoppers seek to buy British.

The British beer brewing sector has grown from just 140 breweries in 1970 to more than 1,700. The number of gin distilleries has doubled in six years and sales of the spirit recently surpassed £1 billion for the first time.

Gary Lynch, chief executive of GS1 UK, said: 'Buying British is back in vogue and it's the smaller firms that are driving this trend. Heritage, provenance and traceability are no longer nice-to-haves.'

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